Staten Island dad accused of sexually abusing daughter cops plea

Despite his pleas for a second chance, a Staten Island man will serve one year in jail for sexually abusing his 4-year-old daughter.

"I'm deeply sorry for my actions," Brian Aguillera, 31, of Mariners Harbor, told a judge. "I ask for a second chance to prove myself to you, and to support my family."

Under an agreement with prosecutors, the Trinidad immigrant was got one year in exchange for a guilty plea on a count of first-degree sexual abuse.

"It does appear to be an isolated incident," Justice Leonard P. Rienzi reasoned. "But the actions and the age of his 4-year-old daughter deserves a severe punishment."

Aguillera must also register as a sex offender. And he could lose his immigration status and be deported to Trinidad immediately following his release.

Defense attorney Patrick Parrotta had asked for a sentence of 10 years probation.

Parrotta reminded the judge that Aguillera pleaded guilty to touching the little girl's buttocks "with his penis" in his Arlington Avenue home last year, then "immediately and proactively enrolled in counseling" a few days following his arrest.

"He accepted what he did was wrong, and he wants to do something about it," Parrotta said.

Parrotta noted that Aguillera continues to financially support his wife and two children even though they have since moved "1,000 miles" away to another state.

The only contact Aguillera maintains with his family is by phone with his wife. "He has no contact whatsoever with his children," Parrotta said.

But neither admission of guilt, voluntary counseling or a lack of physical contact with his children softened Assistant District Attorney Karen Varriale's request to send Aguillera to a full two-year prison term under the plea deal.

The prosecutor maintained that Aguillera masturbated on his daughter's buttocks.

Nor did the judge's compromise of a 1-year jail sentence - which could work out to less than eight months with good behavior - keep Aguillera from tearing up as court officers led him handcuffed out of the courtroom.

"It's a sad case," Parrotta said after the sentencing. "He tried to help himself with counseling."

Rienzi ordered psychiatric medical attention for Aguillera during his incarceration. The judge also set Aguillera to be placed in protective custody.